Vondelkerk Fire Shakes Amsterdam In Deadly New Year (Worthy News In-Depth) (VIDEO)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief reporting from the Netherlands

NOORDWIJK/AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Recovery crews began stabilizing the remains of Amsterdam’s historic Vondelkerk after a massive blaze tore through the neo-Gothic landmark shortly after the New Year began, forcing evacuations but causing no reported injuries, authorities said.

Flames engulfed the church’s spire and roof in a night when at least two people were killed and many more injured in firework work incidents and riots across the Netherlands, overselling emergency services.

The church first sent showers of sparks and debris into surrounding streets as firefighters worked through the night to prevent further collapse. Strong winds fanned the flames, causing burning material to travel farther through the neighborhood.

A large number of nearby flats were evacuated, and about 90 households were temporarily left without electricity as emergency services secured the area.

“It is a very intense and terrible fire in this monumental church,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said. “Our first concern and priority now is the wellbeing and homes of the immediate residents.”

OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE AMID NEW YEAR FIREWORKS

Officials said the cause of the fire remains under investigation, amid widespread fireworks use during New Year’s celebrations across the Netherlands.

The Vondelkerk, a fairy-like landmark with a 50-meter (164-foot) tower, held Roman Catholic services for nearly a century. Built in the late 19th century and deconsecrated in 1977, it later became a cultural venue hosting concerts and events.

For many Amsterdammers, however, the church retained deep personal, historical, and spiritual significance, Worthy News learned.

The fire also revived painful memories in nearby Amstelveen, where the Urbanuskerk was devastated by a major blaze in September 2018. That tragedy now offers hope: the church reopened in 2023 after a full restoration.

“For a moment, everything comes back—emotion, shock, and the urgent question of what must be done,” said Pastor Eugène Jongerden of the Urbanuskerk. “But our experience shows that recovery, though long, is possible.”

SHARED ARCHITECT, SHARED HOPE FOR RESTORATION

Architectural experts note a striking link between the two churches: both were designed by famed Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers, known for landmarks including Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and Central Station.

Restoration architect Cor Bouwstra, who worked on the Urbanuskerk rebuild, said the survival of the masonry would be decisive. “If the walls remain standing, much of the original image can be restored,” he explained.

Volunteers and donors raised more than one million euros over four years to rebuild the Urbanuskerk—an example church leaders say offers encouragement for Amsterdam.

“Stay calm and be patient,” Pastor Jongerden advised. “It will be all right.”

Authorities said monitoring will continue as engineers assess the Vondelkerk’s structural stability and prepare a full investigation into the blaze.

‘MORE THAN STONE AND WOOD’: RESIDENTS MOURN LOSS

The fire has left the city in shock, as residents stressed that the loss goes far beyond bricks and mortar. “What has been lost is more than stone and wood,” said Eric Hoedemaker, a retired medical doctor who grew up with the church as a constant presence. “For many, it may simply have been ‘a building.’ For me, it was a place filled with history and meaning,” he told Worthy News.

Dr. Hoedemaker said his feelings were shared by his father and grandfather—both lifelong Amsterdammers—deeply connected to the city’s places of “silence, culture, and community.”

He recalled that as a young medical student in the neighborhood, the Vondelkerk was where he found “study and focus, but also rest, tension, and action—a place where life, thinking, and feeling came together.”

“What has been lost is memories, connection, time,” he said. “Grateful for everything this place has meant. Saddened that it is gone. I will miss you, Vondelkerk.”

Others echoed the sense of grief. “I always wonder why it is always churches that burn and never a mosque,” said consultant Armand V. “Strange, no?”

Jacki Skeels, a devout Christian and retired teacher and social services worker, called the fire “a tragic loss,” adding, “May those responsible be swiftly brought to justice.”

FIRE IN NATIONWIDE NEW YEAR CHAOS

The tragedy unfolded on a chaotic night across the Netherlands, when two people were killed and numerous others injured in fireworks-related incidents, officials confirmed.

Emergency services were stretched nationwide, with hospitals reporting eye injuries—many involving minors—and police responding to multiple fires and disturbances.

Dutch Police Union chairwoman Nine Kooiman reported an “unprecedented amount of violence against police and emergency services” over New Year’s Eve, when some 250 people were arrested and riot police were deployed in several towns.

Kooiman said she was pelted three times by fireworks and other explosives while working a shift in Amsterdam. In the southern city of Breda, people threw petrol bombs at police, authorities said.

Separate fireworks accidents killed a 38-year-old man in Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam, and a 17-year-old boy from Nijmegen in the east of the country. Three others were seriously injured.

FIREWORKS BAN LOOMS AFTER DEADLY NIGHT

The eye hospital in Rotterdam said it treated 14 patients, including 10 minors, for eye injuries, with two requiring surgery.

New Year’s Eve 2025 marked the final year before a nationwide ban on the sale of fireworks to consumers comes into effect.

According to the Dutch Pyrotechnics Association, revellers spent a record 129 million euros ($151 million) on fireworks. A Worthy News reporter witnessed hours-long explosions in the coastal town of Noordwijk.

Firework-free zones appeared to have little effect, with similar scenes reported elsewhere in Europe.

The worst case was in Switzerland where at least 40 young people were killed and 119 injured in a bar fire in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, Worthy News reported at the time

SWISS BLAZE ‘CAUSED BY SPARKLERS’

The blaze was likely caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles held to close to the ceiling, according to witnesses and investigators, and a criminal investigation was launched against bar managers.

In Belgium, police announced they made scores of arrests as officers in Brussels and Antwerp were targeted with fireworks, despite local bans.

In the city of Antwerp alone, more than 100 people were detained after bikes, cars, and rubbish bins were set ablaze. Minors as young as 10 and 11 were among those involved, police said.

With a tense calm restored in Europe, cautious hope emerged in Amsterdam that a restored Vondelkerk may one day again tower over the city—both as a symbol of devastation and of resilience.

Church leaders and restoration experts say the road ahead may be long, but for many Amsterdammers, the Vondelkerk was never “just a church.” It was, they suggest, a living part of the Dutch capital’s soul.

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